UNK and UNMC Will Bring Advanced Medical Education to Kearney
By Maddie Pospisil
Together, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska Medical Center are building a strong rural health care workforce to support a healthy population and a healthy economy.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Health Science Education Center I, which expanded nursing education and brought many of UNMC’s allied health professions programs to UNK. The goal was to create a pipeline of skilled health care workers to serve rural Nebraska. Incredible strides have been made toward this goal: Approximately 85% of students who graduate from programs supported in the center go on to practice in rural Nebraska.
Building on this success, the Health Science Education Center II — the result of a public-private partnership and currently under construction — will allow UNMC to launch new programs to train physicians, pharmacists and public health professionals in Kearney.
When fully operational in 2026, both centers will form the Douglas A. Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex and will have an annual estimated economic impact on the state of $34.5 million. The graduates who remain in Nebraska to practice will contribute an estimated $52.4 million annually.
The driving force behind these immense economic impacts are the hardworking, passionate students who are excited to care for their state’s rural communities.
Skyler Summers – Gibbon, Nebraska
Pre-medicine program | Rising junior psychobiology major with minors in health care management and nutrition
Skyler Summers wants to live a life filled by serving others. Summers grew up on a farm, has an uncle who is a family practitioner in rural Nebraska, and she participated in the UNK Health Science Explorers Academy in high school. These influences shaped her desire to become a physician for a rural hospital or clinic and build deep connections with her community.
Brodie Mitchell – Cambridge, Nebraska
Pre-medicine program | Rising junior health sciences major with a minor in biology
Brodie Mitchell has been surrounded by health care his whole life. He would visit his mother after school to watch her in action as a pharmacist, and he currently works as a medical scribe at Tri Valley Health System. Inspired by the providers serving his hometown, Mitchell has a dream of delivering babies in rural Nebraska. He says the reason there’s no place like Nebraska is because of its small, tight-knit, heartfelt communities.
Abhinav Srivastava – Hastings, Nebraska
Pre-medicine program | Rising sophomore biology major with a health science emphasis and a minor in health care management
Abhinav Srivastava has a goal of opening his own practice someday — and he wants to do so in rural Nebraska. He knows it can be taxing to travel while experiencing health problems, so he wants to help ensure people in rural areas can access care closer to home. Srivastava is exploring all possible paths for his future: visiting UNMC’s Omaha campus, shadowing different health care positions and making connections through UNK’s Hospital Partners Networking Event.
Makenna Redinger – Kearney, Nebraska
Pre-medicine program | ’25 graduate, biology major with a health science emphasis and a minor in chemistry
Makenna Redinger’s parents own a funeral home, and she grew up feeling inspired by the care and empathy they showed to grieving, vulnerable families. She wants the chance to show that same care and empathy to her future patients. Redinger is already engaging the next generation of aspiring rural health care professionals by returning to her high school as an ambassador of the Kearney Health Opportunities Program.
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